This invention relates to a tie down apparatus for an automobile luggage rack. Nowadays, luggage racks are commonly used to carry suitcases and other commodities. U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,267 shows one example of a luggage rack where an article carrier was disclosed using a spring member on each bracket member by cooperating with notches in a channel member of the side rails for detachably securing and longitudinally adjusting the crossbar upon the side rails. A conventional luggage rack, as shown in FIG. 10, has outer rails 100 mounted on a roof, along the vehicle's longitudinal axis, cross bars 102 which connect the outer rails 100, skid strips 104 mounted on the roof in order to protect from scratches, and tie down studs 106, disposed on the outer rails 100. The tie down studs 106 are used to prevent luggage on the roof from falling off by tying one end of a piece of rope through a loop 108 of a tie down stud then having the rope pass over the luggage lying on top of the skid strips while the other end of the rope is tied through a loop 108 of a tie down stud, located on an opposite outer rail.
In prior U.S. Pat. No. DES. 267,247 and DES. 267,087, a tie down bracket for a luggage rack is disclosed. While these designs have achieved commercial success, some problems have been experienced in providing a more aesthetically pleasing and more simple to use rack.